Veto override vote on defunding Planned Parenthood set for January 26

Congressional Republican leaders have confirmed they intend to hold a vote to override President Barack Obama’s veto of the bill to defund Planned Parenthood on January 26, four days after the annual March for Life in Washington, DC.

The bill, which the House of Representative passed on January 6 by a 240 to 181 vote and the Senate in December by 52 to 47, would place a one-year moratorium on Planned Parenthood’s more than $500 million per year in federal tax funding, as well as repeal many major components of Obamacare, which also helps subsidize abortions.

Obama vetoed the bill last week, in a move which March for Life president Jeanne Mancini said nevertheless served a useful purpose in making his support for abortion “loud and clear, perhaps more than ever before.” On Tuesday, Live Action News’s Rebecca Downs noted that the veto does not change the “historic” nature of the vote as the first time the issue was sent to the President’s desk.

Pro-life lawmakers are not expected to reach the 67 Senate votes and 290 House votes necessary to override Obama’s veto and make the bill law, but hold out hope that their efforts in this session will help lead to the bill being signed by a pro-life President in 2017.